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WestCoast ADcon
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/Sarou/HolyshitReilookslikeJohnLennonandYo.jpg Note: The following is an almost direct copypaste from Da Regulator's very detailed and organized West Coast ADcon 06. __FORCETOC__ Day 1 'THE FLIGHT' ---- OK, so I woke up at 5:30 in the mo'nin' and got on a plane at 7:51 a.m. without a hitch. Security was quick and it all took less than 5 minutes even when you include the line. This is due to packing ultra light because the new FAA guidelines are way too strict. Just 1-day's worth of clothes, a camera, a memory stick, a towel, and a toothbrush. No deodorant. So I got a window seat when I got in the plane, but the view was all cloudy. I will mention that I haven't flown since the year 1990, but things haven't changed from what I remember. The pilot was really smooth with his takeoff and it was as exilerating as I remember it at five years of age. As we accelerated above 330 miles per hour, I totally felt the rush and I just smiled like a dork staring out the tiny plastic window. 'ARRIVAL' ---- I got to the SFO airport at 8:56 a.m. ten minutes early with a really smooth landing. And of course, it was completely fogg'd up. The airport, I have to say is nicer than LAX with its better decor and exhibits about the marine life on the bay. I called Syd as soon as I landed and told him to pick me up, but he just finished brushing his teeth. Funny thing is, he arrived like 15 minutes after (he probably went over 100 on the freeway). And yes, Syd, you are a badass driver in your black Jetta. For reference, Syd likes to slide his car on turns and make amazing lane changes in tight spots. Throughout the duration of ADcon, we hit speeds pushing 100-105 mph on the cleanest freeways I've seen in long while. *LA sucks* So the guy picked me up at the airport and I gots into his carro. Our initial conversation was pretty casual, however, there was a certain potato flake mentioned as I recall. First stop on our list, was the local neighborhood Walgreens. You know, we just had to get some Pringles, film, deodorant, Advil, and condoms. Finally, we got to his nice casa in Daly City where we chilled at his computer for a while. We contacted Rei-chan and asked her if she was ready to be picked up before printing out the directions on mapquest. We left around 10:30 and drove forever and ever trying to find the exit for Fruity Ville. Terrible street name. FINALLY, we got to her house around 11:45 a.m. after driving around for 25 miles and paying a toll bridge for nothing. I told Syd, to fix himself up a little bit before going in since we were going to get our mugshot taken. Hey, what else did we do? Oh yeah, we were photographed, thumb-printed, and Syd's license plate number and make were recorded. Of course, that didn't stop us from going to third base, right half_bread? ___________________________ Events Itinerary - Downtown San Francisco - Metreon - Blondies Pizza - Pier 39 ___________________________ 'THE METREON' ---- Arriving at the Metreon was no easy task as parking was as easy as finding snakes on a plane...or something. I sat in the passenger seat and we stuffed Rei in the trunk. *ahem* As I was saying, parking was no easy task and parking meters, although available, were 25 cents for every 5 minutes. It was insane. So Syd paid $8 to a guy named Boris to park it for us in his little parking lot. Getting to the Metreon didn't take too long and when we got there, I spied a nice merry-go-round encased in a glass greenhouse-looking thing. There were plenty of little kids around watching a lame show with a guy lifting up his hat. We stopped by a couple of stores like the Playstation store and the Comic book store. We lol'd at Action Figure Jesus. Zombie Marvel heroes Zombies was interesting and the talking old-skoo batman was lollerific. 'THE WALK' Gah, this summary is tiring... Most of our little adventure through the windy city was spent walking. We saw lots of hobos along the way and Syd, always gave them change when he had it. He's a friggin' hobo saint, I'm telling ya. I should have said, "Syd, stop feeding the pigeons." But his reply would invariably be "I'm a nice guy I like having my car crapped on." 'BLONDIE'S PIZZA' ---- Ahhh, Blondie's Pizza. That's some good New York style pizza. Nice big slices for a couple of bucks. Syd and Rei-chan ordered for me inside while I took some pics of the surroundings and then we went down underground to an area that looks something like a bomb-shelter or something more than a restaurant. It had a nice atmosphere with some hip-hop and other stuff pumping out of the sound boxes. It was during our lovely meal when Rei decided to punch me and she said "For Snucks" and we laughed. Not the only time she took a whack at me, mind you. 'THE "VIEW"' ---- https://archive.is/20130625053444/img237.imageshack.us/img237/5408/blondiesstlh4.jpg No, I'm not talking about that terrible chicken fest. After looking at the skyline in Downtown for a while, I got the idea that we could go up one of them in an elevator to take a picture or something. We stopped by the St. Regis Hotel, but it was being guarded with a bunch of stiff Alfred doorman types. So we skipped it and I took a picture of Rei on a vespa in the alley. Those vespas were all over the place and Syd and I were considering how it would be to have one with parking spaces and gasoline being so economical. Oh yes, this was a good topic of conversation. So here's the good part: As we were walking toward another hotel, I was trying to put Rei's digicam in my pocket and it just fell out and hit the floor. Even though it was in its case and it didn't hit hard, I found out later that it just refused to turn back on. "Oh noes, DaReg broke Rei's camera." We finally ended up at the Marriott hotel and I figured that if we went in, we could try to go up the elevator to the top. A little tip in pulling something off is you gotta keep your confidence and look like you know what you're doing and where you're going. All seemed fine until I decided it would be a good idea to look at the map directory of the hotel. And I got caught by Mr. Security-face. He asked me where I was going and such and why I was there and I was totally caught off-guard since I didn't expect to have to come up with any excuses. Unlike Mr. Syd, I am a terrible BS-er. I've just never been good at it and he just decided he would talk to me, so I told him that I wanted to go to the 4th floor. "What's on the 4th Floor?" And I just died, because I had no real good reason to go the 4th Floor. You see, when I took a look at the directory, I noticed that there were a bunch of conference rooms and that a conference with random people could be likely. However, I didn't think it through all the way and I knew that I talked myself into a corner since he probably knew of all the conferences going on up there. Looking him straight in the eye with my confidence shot, I told him "I...don't...know...I was just told that I was supposed to go to the 4th floor." And I repeated that a few times, like I was trying to convince myself that it was true. Of course, it was totally obvious I didn't know what I was talking about. End Result? The security guard turned out to be cool with tourists and he told me that if I wanted to go see the view, I just had to go to the 39th floor to enter the "The View" lounge. It was a quaint little restaurant with a beautiful view of the entire city below. It was equipped with a bar and some tables with large tinted windows letting light in. We walked over to an empty table in the corner and I tried to turn on the digital camera. And it didn't work at all. I flipped the batteries, played around with it, hit it a couple times and it just would respond. So...I thought, "Man, I broke Rei's camera. Oh well!" And I took out my film camera and took a picture of the city down below. After that we went down to the lobby again and I noticed how nice it really was with a long chandelear and expensive wooden flooring. Quite a nice little place, but I enjoyed the revolving door the most. We all squished into one piece of the pie and I was flung out the entrance. 'SYDNEY'S HOUSE' ---- Syd showed us his crazy Stepmania skills and he seriously belongs on Ebaum's World or something. The guy is just insane. I believe Rei's words were "wow." He was playing songs so fast, I was wondering how he kept the keyboard arrows from melting. During the fastest parts, he would just hunch his shoulders and just pound that thing into oblivion. (Max, I'm sorry, but you just can't compare) After that little show, we got to eat SPAM. Oh yes, you read right folks, SPAM. Not only that, we ate it with sticky rice and some adobo (filipino style pork). It was quite good and I kept on mentioning SPAM to annoy Rei and Syd. I think it worked, but I added the cherry on top by talking about that stupid cup riddle that stumped me when I was five. You guys couldn't figure it out at all until I said "It's on the OUTSIDE! Ohhhhhh!" Hmm, my memory is so sketchy, but I think we all got drunk and we took Rei to an abandoned warehouse. Right Syd? Oh well. This concludes DAY ONE of ADcon. Rei, if you edit this, add something, don't delete. Capish? REI EDIT: Screw you Da Reg, I'm removing a few commas and apostrophes to correct some of your flawed English k ZACK EDIT: Screw you Da Reg, You guys didn't talk enough about me and Im ruining your english k UpDATE List: -Gotta include the part where we filled up on gas and asked for directions and how we were hit by a drive-by laptop guy. (It's amazing how many people approached us through the whole weekend trying to get money out of us.) Day 2 'THE WAKE UP' ---- 6:15 a.m. My cellphone begins ringing and waking me from my deep (drama queen) slumber. Opening my eyes, I wake up in a place that is not my my own. I remember...I'm sleeping on a futon couch complete with drool-flake pillows. Syd made a call to his mom late in the afternoon the day before and said something along the lines of "Can {Dareg} sleep over tonight? pause He promises to go to church with us tomorrow." So, it seems I agreed to go to church with Syd after all. Not a bad return for giving me a spam/adobo/sticky rice dinner and a place to crash. It also seems my cellphone was set too late. Syderoni's mom was already showering in the baffroom and I had to stay in the futon for an hour. Finally, Syd's bro and mom were out the door and it was time to go to church. So what's with the major stubble style you had going there, man? 'THE DRIVE' ---- A good amount of ADcon was spent on driving and Syd didn't disappoint...well, that's when he didn't get lost. It was a foggy morning with the typical San Francisco temperature (COLD to us Southern California people). So we got into the black VW Jetta and headed out for some good old churchin'. I believe--and correct me if I'm wrong--we went on the 280 down toward Redwood City. The driving was pretty insane with speeds reaching over 105 mph and lane changes that left only a couple of feet of space in between. Pumping up the Pillows, Syd and I raced on and reached the church in under 20 mins. Consider the fact that Redwood city was about 25 miles away. Parking was a snap. Syd put on his tie and suit. And we were in. 'PERCHIN' AND CHURCHIN ---- Syd's church is a very organized and formal church. I was the only guy there who didn't have a button-up shirt and dress pants. A sweater and a polo shirt isn't so bad, right? So we walked through the parking lot and the people waved hello to us and said "Hello Sydney!" I couldn't help but smirk at how many people knew him by "Sydney" rather than just plain "Syd"...eroni. (Sorry guy, I have no idea where that nickname could have originated from) Anyway, we entered the church the double doors and entered the nice sanctuary. It was very old-fashioned in it's architecture with a raised ceiling, it's pulpit and pews, and an area for the choir. We were seated promptly and I sat there listening to the organ play. A couple minutes passed and the choir stood up and began to sing from the hymnal. We turned to the proper page and I sang along as best I could. I didn't really know the melodies, but it wasn't too difficult to sing along to. After the hymnal portion of the service, we began with the small message about marriage from the pastor. I learned some interesting things, such as how a woman should get up early and cook breakfast and how she should keep her beauty by lifting weights. Service ended after about an hour or so and we got up in a very reverent and organized fashion toward the double doors to exit the sanctuary. After we got outside, I stretched and took a look at my surroundings. It's funny, because I jokingly implied that I thought the taco joint next door was part of the church (and it really could have been since it wasn't clearly labeled). So we walked over to the little...community room(?) and we watched the kids run around. Syd drummed on the old pew in the room and tapped his foot to some non-existant song, while some little girl played a song using only the piano's black-keys. Seems the little girl plays the exact same song to an annoying repetition every Sunday morning. After waiting around for a half hour, Syd went off to the officer's prayer meeting and I hung out with the kids. The kids smiled at the tall stranger standing at the back of the room while doing what kids do best: play. What I found interesting is that the kids up in NorCal, play a variation of the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors" called "Roe, Sham, Boe." Down here, we play the Korean version called "Kai, Bai, Bo." Both the boys and the girls would play, with the boys being the louder of the bunch. It wasn't long before we were led back into the main sanctuary. Most of the children formed part of the choir, while the less musically inclined formed the general audience. We sung hymns once more and then sat down and listened to the message, preached in a Q & A fashion. Apparently, Jesus did indeed die on the cross. Church finally ended and while Syd counted the offering money (to which I contributed one whole dollar), I spent my time outside walking around and exploring. Syd's mother introduced me to some people as "Syd's friend" and I had a couple of people asking me if I played basketball. Afterwards, I sat around for a while and rubbed my unshaven face in deep thought. "I totally need to shave," I concluded. ''Bored yet? Because there's more to come on the next update. Same Forum. Same Thread. Same Time. Whenever. 'IN-N-OUT' ---- We stopped off by Syderoni's house first and we caught up with Rei a bit after. Mommy-Rei said she was still asleep, but soon woke up and we told her we'd be picking her up in a bit. Syd did indeed keep his word and played some Stepmania, ate some oatmeal bar-cookies, shaved, changed out of his suit, and played the drums downstairs. Oh and let's not forget the little fun we had on Rei's account. Had we had access to her admin powers, we would have have a ton of fun (ie: Potato Flake H-B). I guess we had to settle for editing posts to include the word "fag." However, I gotta say that Syd chicken'd out as soon as Rei-chan came online "Oh noes! She's online and she will catch me!" So he quickly logged out and there ended his momentary power trip. First off on our list of priorities. It's brunch time and I'm starving. It was too late to go to Denny's and eat a Grand Slam Breakfast, so I decided In-N-Out would be a good alternate. As soon as I stepped into the burger restaurant, I felt at home. Every single In-N-Out that I've been too feels exactly the same. So we walk up to to the cashier kid and look up at the big menu. I ordered the Double Double Numbah <1> Combo on the menu. Coulda had some Animal Style Fries, but I refrained for the better good of humanity. Syd, being as broke as he was, decided to skimp on the combo and ordered a cheeseburger. Apparently, he's too good for In&Out French fries. So we sat down and I devoured my burger and fries. I was seriously starving and I needed to eat every last bit of my meal in order to have enough energy to walk back to the car. Conversation wasn't needed but what did indeed become part of our dialogue was how there were fake plants in the restaurant. Oh yes, they were made of plastic. Man, that was a satisfying meal...I rubbed my belly in satisfaction and walked back outside. On to Rei's house... 'SANCTUARY OF REI' ---- After getting over to Rei-chan's house, we met up with momma-rei and talked to her about where we should go. We didn't do much, but we did hang out for a while since traffic was pretty annoying and we were pretty tired. It was pretty funny how little rei was running circles around us. Syd kept saying "So much energy" since the girl couldn't stop jumping around. Man, memory is really fuzzy now, but I remember grabbing the guitars and trying to tune it using a tuning fork and a pair of pliers. I fooled around with it, but just couldn't get the damn thing to tune properly so I gave up. I also remember that when I got there, I made a big sigh of relief when I saw the digital camera. It wasn't broken--still too lazy to finish this.... ____ So after In-N-Out we went to Rei's house. When we got there we did a whole lot of nothing for a good amount of time. Then we finaly got unlazy and looked at movie listings. It was a toss up between Snakes on a Plane and that animated Keanu Reeves movie. Being the indecisive group that we were we decided to let the internet make the choice for us. Unfortunantly they had the same score on Rotten Tomatoes. We eventualy chose Snakes on a Plane because DR is a fag like that. But we had a couple hours to kill so we went back to doing nothing. Finaly we headed to jacklondon square. Geting to jacklondon square was half the battle because MAP QUEST FUCKING SUCKS >(I'm stupid). So we finaly got there and bought our tickets. We decided to just sit in the theater for the 30 min or so that we had to kill before the movie started. This was a problem for me because i had taken 2 caffine pills to help me stay awake and sitting down for 30 min was not cool. Now from what ive been told the best thing about snakes on a plane is the crowd watching the movie. Unfortunatly for us there was almost no one in the damn theater. After the movie we talked about what we thought of it. I liked because i went in with low expectations and the movie came out pretty decent, DR did not like because he likes men over women, and Rei was indifferent as always. Update to be continued... Day One Update: I gotta update the part of the day when Syd and I the AD guest book. (You could probably do a better job at that, Rei) Syd called me a homo. Related Threads Day 1: http://adiversions.stalo.com/index.php/topic,1501.0.html Day 2: http://adiversions.stalo.com/index.php/topic,1541.0.html http://adiversions.stalo.com/index.php/topic,1618.0.html